Refrigerator car structure



March 25, 1941. l v. E, WEST 2,236,388

REFRIGERATOR CAR STRUCTURE Filed June l0, 1938 Patented Mar. 25, 1941 UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR CAR STRUCTURE of Delaware Application .lune 10, 1938, Serial No. 213,092

'l Claims.

The invention relates to refrigerator cars and more particularly to cars having the refrigerant near the roof, commonly called top bunker cars. A refrigerator car is a car having insulated wa-lls, floor and roof and means for cooling the contents of the car during the warm months of the year and for heating lthe contents during the cold months. In the transportation of many kind-s of fresh vegetables, fruits and meats it has been found important that these products be kept within 'a certain temperature range, depending on the product. If a product becomes too cold it freezes and its market value becomes less; also if it :becomes too warm, ripening is hastened and its value decreased because of a shorter storage life.

The essential features of a refrigerator car, in addition to the insulated structure, :are means for heating in winter and cooling in summer; provision for the .circulation of air from the heating or cooling means to and through the lading, `and means .to support the lading in the car, usually at a distance above the floor to allow for air circulation between ythe lading and the iloor. The commonly accepted type of refrigerator car is Aone with ice bunkers positioned adjacent the end walls of the car and separated from the lading compartment by a bulkhead. The air circulates under the bulkhead, up through the lading, and over the' bulkhead .back to the bunker. This is known as the end bunker car. Another type, known as the top bunker car, has the ice bunkers near the roof from where the `air circulates downwardly through flues associated with the walls up through the lading and back to the ice bunkers.

`Certain features embodied in this invention apply to 'any type of refrigerator car, while others obviously Iapply `only .to -a car having the ice bunkers adjacent the roof.

A number of years ago refrigerator cars were built with a wood framework, wood sheathing, and wood lining and insulated with various -materials. Later the framework was made of steel, and only Very recently have cars been built with steel sheathing and roof. Designers have been slow to adopt steel for refrigerator cars, partly because of the dillculty of repairing the steel sheathing if itis damaged.

Steel sheathed refrigerator .cars are commonly built by erecting upon an underframe a steel outer wall or sheathing. Insulation blankets are vthen applied and the inside lining is secured in place. The ceiling .and roof -with insulation therebetween are also secured to the outer wall.

` separately from the outer structure.

- floor rack stringers to the floor.

,this invention to provide a ceiling which will pre- If,. due to defective construction or to damage during service, it becomes necessary to replace a sheet or post of the wall, it is necessary to practically dismantle the car, removing lining and insulation. It is an object of this invention to con- 5 struct the inner structure of the car entirely It is then possible to remove and replace sheets of the side -or roof without disturbing the insulation. Thisk greatly reduces repair costs and also encourages the construction of steel sheathed refrigerator cars. One of the disadvantages of such cars has been the diiculty of repairing them, but this is now overcome .by the :construction disclosed here. 15

Another object of .the invention is to position flues for the circulation ofair .between the inner and outer structures. It is a further object to thus maintain the outside width and wall thickness the same and at the same time to increase 20 the inside Width of the car.

It is another object of the invention to increase the efliciency of the insulation by constructing and supporting the inner and outer structures separately, lthus eliminating the usual connections which are undesirable because they conduct heat from the outside to the inside.

Another object of the invention is to support the lining, .ceiling and refrigerant containers directly on the underframe. This not only facilitat-es repairs to Ithe outer structure, but provides a stronger car and also a lighter car because the outer wall has less load to support and can be made of thinner material. l

Another object of the invention is to support the lading directly on the underframe by arranging the oor rack stringers, .beams which support the iioor, and underframe cross members substantially in a vertical plane, thereby transmitting the load directly to the underframe and relieving strain on other parts of the car. It is a further object of the invention to secure the They may then be made of thinner material and the dead weight l4,5

of the car decreased.

lnately heated by the sun shining thereon and( cooled by contact with the cool night air. Each time the roof is cooled, the moisture in the air 4between the roof and ceiling is condensed and may leak through the -roof and dri-p on the lading, thus damaging said lading. It is an object of vent the condensed moisture from reaching the lading.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a ceiling to which the refrigerant containers may Ibe easily attached It is another object of the invention to provide a ceiling having ribs projecting into the insulation thereabove to resist the tendency of the insulation to creep during the twisting and jolting which occurs during service movements of the car.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a transverse section of a refrigerator car having a portion broken away; the left half being taken on line IL-IL of Fig. 2 and the right half on line IR-IR of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The underframe 2 of the car comprises a`cen' ter sill 3 extending longitudinally of the car and cross members 4 which consist of holsters, cross bearers and cross ties. The outer side sills 5 comprise channel shaped members 6 secured to the cross members 4 and angles 1 secured to the channels 6. Outer frame members 8 `and sheathing 9 are secured to the side sills 5 and support the outer roof structure Ill. The outer side plates II are secured to the frame members 8 and sheathing 9 at the top edge thereof. The -roof Ill comprises a series of sheets I2 extending between the side plates II, each of said sheets having an upwardly :projecting central panel or corrugation I3 and upturned marginal flanges I4. The sheets I2 are secured together by inverted channel shaped seam caps I5 covering the flanges I4 and secured thereto. A subfloor I 6, mad-e :preferably of wood, to provide additional insulation, rests upon and is secured -to the center sill 3, cross members 4 and outer side sills 5, thus forming a complete outer structure supported on the underframe 2.

A series of beams 25 rest upon the sub-floor IG above the cross members 4 and support a oor 24. Inner side sills comprise angles 26 secured to the beams 25. The inner wall structure is formed by inner vertical frame members 21 and lining 28; the members 21 being secured to the inner side plate 29. The ceiling 30 extends between the side plates 29 and is supported thereon; the ceiling 30 comprising a plurality of transversely extending sheets 3l having upturned flanges 32.- at the margins thereof. The anges 32 project inside a plurality of inverted channel shaped seam caps 33 positioned above the ceiling 39. It is evident from the drawing that the inner structure comprising beams 25, wall 21-28 and ceiling 30 is supported directly on the underframe 2 of the car independently of the outer structure.

A plurality of refrigerant containers 40 having foraminous sides 4I and bottom 42 are positioned preferably in rows near the ceiling 3D and extend longitudinally of the car adjacent each lining 28. The containers 40 are suspended from the ceiling by elements 43 inserted between the upturned flanges 32 of adjacent sheets 3I and secured thereto by the rivets 44 which also secure the seam caps 33 to the ceiling sheets 3|. Hatch frames 45 formed from metallic sheets extend from above the roof I0 to below the ceiling 30 and are positioned above the refrigerant containers 4D. The hatches 46 are used to deposit refrigerant in the containers 40.

An insulated partition 59 is positioned below each container 40 sloping slightly downwardly toward the side lining 28 to provide a passage 49 between the partition 59 and the container 40. An upright wall 5I projects upwardly from the partition 50 adjacent the center o f the car. A plurality of Vertical iiues 52 formed preferably from thin metallic sheets 53 are between the sheathing 9 and lining 28, each ue 52 extending longitudinally of the car between the inner frame members 21 and being adjacent the lining 23. As a means for supporting the lading I have shown a floor rack 54 comprising a foraminous floor consisting of a flat perforated sheet 55 secured, preferably by welding, to a corrugated perforated sheet 56; the sheets 55-56 being spaced from the floor 24 by a plurality of transversely extending stringers 51. I have shown the stringers 51 as Z-bars positioned above and secured to the beams 25, thus supporting the lading directly on the beams 25 and cross members 4. Securing the stringers 51 by one flange 'thereof to the beams 25 makes it possible to form the stringers of thinner material than if the Z-bars were to rest unsecured upon the floor.

The refrigerant used in the type of car herein described is usually fresh water ice, ice mixed with salt to produce a lower temperature, or frozen brine, known as eutectic ice. The melted ice drips through the foraminous bottom 42 of the container, flows down the inclined partition t 50 to the lower edge thereof, down the lues 52 to the oor 24 of the car, from which it drains into the gutters 65 and from the gutter to outside the car through water sealed drains provided for that purpose, but not shown on the 1- drawing. The path of the air circulation is from the lading space 66 upwardly through the duct 61 formed by the upright walls 5I, through the foraminous walls 4I-42 of the container 4l) where it is cooled by the refrigerant therein, downwardly through the iiues 52' and into the space 68 under the floor rack 54. It is then free to rise from this space through the perforations in the sheets'55-56 absorbing heat from the lading as it rises toward the duct 61 to repeat the cycle.

The insulation 10, shown on the drawing, substantially fills the space between the outer structure which comprises sub-floor I6, sheathing 9 and roof I0 and the inner structure which comprises iioor 24 lining 28 and ceiling 3D. The inner and outer structures are spaced apart at all points except at the beams 25 which are the only means of support between the inner and outer structures, therefore, the car may be very eiciently insulated. i

The flues 52 are positioned adjacent the lining and extend substantially between the vertical frame members 21. This is indicated by the dotted lines and arrows in Fig. 2. In Fig. l the left half of the section is on line IA-IA of Fig. 2, showing the construction through the flue 52, while the right half of Fig. l, on line IB-IB of Fig. 2, shows the construction through a post 21.

The gutter 65 disclosed in this application is disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 213,089, filed June l0, 1938, and the side wall flue 52 shown herein is claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 213,090, filed June 10, 1938.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modiunderframe parts independently of said sills, an

cations thereofwithin the scope of the fclaims,

will occur to persons skilled 'in the art.

I claim: Y 1, In a refrigerator car having an underframe vcomprising spaced apart transversely disposed position to said sills, lining secured to said frame members substantially in contact therewith, outer sheathing spaced outwardly from. said frame-members, means to secure the sheathing to said underframe parts independently of said sills, an outer roof extending between the sheathing on opposite sides of the car, a ceiling supported by said frame members in spaced relation to said roof, insulation between said sheathing and said lining and between said roof and said ceiling, spaced apart carlines extending` across the car, means associated with the upper parts of said inner frame members to support said carlines, and refrigerant containers supported by said carlines.

2. In a refrigerator car having an underframe comprising spaced. apart transversely disposed parts extending substantially between opposite side margins of the ear, a sub-oor supported by said parts, spaced apart members above said sub-floor arranged' to be each supported solely by one of said underframe parts, inner side sills extending between and supported by said members adjacent the outer ends of said underframe parts, a main floor extending between said sills, insulation between said main floor and sub-floor, inner'frame members secured in an upstanding position to said sills, lining secured to said frame members substantially in contact therewith, outer sheathing spaced outwardly from said frame members, means to secure the sheathing to said underframe parts independently of said sills, an outer roof extending between the sheathing on opposite sides of the car, a ceiling supported by said frame members in spaced relation to said roof., insulation between said sheathing and said lining and between said roof and said ceiling, an inner side plate at each side of the car supported by the upper parts of said inner frame members, spaced apart carlines extending across the car and supported at their ends by said inner side plates, and refrigerant containers supported by said carlines.

3. In a refrigerator car having an underframe comprising spaced apart transversely disposed parts extending substantially between opposite side margins of the car, a sub-oor supported by said parts, spaced apart members above said sub-floor arranged to be each supported solely by one of said underframe parts, inner side sills extending between and supported by said members adjacent the outer ends of said underframe parts, a main oor extending between said sills, insulation between said main floor and sub-licor, inner frame members secured in an upstanding position to said sills, lining secured to said frame members substantially in Contact therewith, outer sheathing spaced outwardly from said frame members, means to secure the sheathing to said outer `roof extending between thesheathing on opposite sides of the can a ceiling supported by said frame members in spaced relation to said roof, insulation between said sheathing and said lining and between said roof and said ceiling, spaced apart carlines extending across'the' car, meansassociatedA with the upper parts of said inner frame ,members to support said carlines, and refrigerant containers spaced apart at the Vcenter ofthe car and supported by said carlines.

side margins ofthe car, a sub-floor supported.

by said parts, spaced apart membersr abovesaid sub-floor arranged to be each supported solely by onelof said underframe parts, a main floor vsupportedbysaid members, inner side sills; supported by said main floor adjacent the outer ends of said underframe parts, insulation between said main door and sub-door, inner framev members secured in an upstanding position to said sills, lining secured to said frame members substantiallyy in Contact therewith, outer sheathing spaced outwardly from said frame members, means to secure the sheathing to said underframe parts independently of said sills, an outer roof extending between the sheathing on opposite sides of the car, a ceiling supported by said frame members in spaced relation to said roof, insulation between said sheathing and said lining and between said roof and said ceiling, spaced apart carlines extending across the car,A means associated with the upper parts `of said inner frame members to support said carlines, and refrigerant containers supported by said carlines.

5. In a refrigerator car having an underframe comprising spaced apart transversely disposed parts extending substantially between opposite side margins of the car, a sub-floor supported by said parts, spaced apart members above said subfloor arranged to be each supported solely by one of said underframe parts, a main floor supported by said members, inner side sills supported by said main floor adjacent the outer ends of said underframe parts, insulation between said main door and sub-floor, inner frame members secured in an upstanding position to said sills, lining secured to said frame members substantially in contact therewith, outer sheathing spaced outwardly from said frame members, means to secure the sheathing to said underframe'parts independently of said sills, an outer roof extending between the sheathing on opposite sides of the car, a ceiling supported by said frame members in spaced relation to said roof, insulation between said sheathing and said lining and between said roof and said ceiling, an inner side plate at each side of the car supported by the upper parts of said inner frame members, spaced apart carlines extending across the car and supported at their ends by said inner said plates, and refrigerant containers supported by said carlines.

6. In a refrigerator car having an underframe comprising spaced apart transversely disposed parts extending substantially between opposite side margins of the car, a sub-floor supported by said parts, spaced apart members above said sub-oor arranged to be each supported solelyy by one of said underframe parts, a main :door supported by said members, inner side sills supported by said main floor adjacent the outer ends of said underframe parts, insulation between said main floor and sub-oor, inner frame members secured in an upstanding position to said sills, lining secured to said frame members substantially in contact therewith, outer sheathing spaced outwardly from said frame members, means to secure the sheathing to said underframev parts independently of said sills, an outer roof extending between the sheathing on opposite sides of the car, a ceiling supported by said frame members in spaced relation to said roof, insulation between said sheathing and said lining and between said roof and said ceiling, spaced apart carlines extending across the car, means associated With the upper parts of said inner frame members to support said carlines, and refrigerant containers spaced apart at the center of the car and supported by said carlines.

'7. In a refrigerator car having an underframe comprising spaced apart transversely disposed parts extending substantially between opposite side margins of the car, a sub-iioor supported by said parts, spaced apart members above said suboor arranged to be each supported solely by one `of said underframe parts, a main floor supported `sheathing spaced outwardly from said frame members, means to secure the sheathing to said underframe 'parts independently of said sills, an outer roof extending betweenvthe sheathing on opposite sides of the car, a ceiling supported by said frame members in spaced relation to said roof, insulation between said sheathing and said lining and between said roof and said ceiling, spaced apart carlines extending `across the car, means associated with the upper parts of said inner frame members to support said carlines,

and refrigerant containers supported by said car- 20 lines. i

VICTOR E. WEST. 

